Sen. Deb Fischer wins Nebraska GOP primary

Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska has won the Republican nomination in her bid for a second term in office.

Fischer defeated four GOP challengers in Tuesday’s primary election and will be the strong favorite to win re-election in deep-red Nebraska.

Some of Fischer’s primary opponents had argued she wasn’t conservative enough, but Fischer received endorsements from a majority of the state’s elected Republican officials, as well as major farm and business groups. Before being elected to the Senate, she was a rancher and state legislator.

President Donald Trump had tweeted earlier Tuesday: “Nebraska – make sure you get out to the polls and VOTE for Deb Fischer today!”

Polls have closed across Pennsylvania, one of four states holding primary elections Tuesday.

In Pennsylvania, 84 candidates are vying for nominations in 18 U.S. House districts following the state’s court-ordered redrawing of congressional maps. The new districts are expected to give Democrats their best shot in years of picking up seats long held by Republicans.

Republicans are also choosing their party’s challengers to Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and to U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, setting the stage for what is expected to be a hotly contested general election two years after Pennsylvania helped deliver the White House to Donald Trump.

Idaho, Nebraska and Oregon are also holding primaries Tuesday.

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A redrawn congressional map in Pennsylvania just three months ago has left candidates scrambling as four states prepare to hold primaries.

In Pennsylvania, primary voters will decide the fate of President Donald Trump’s pick for U.S. Senate. Idaho, Nebraska and Oregon are also holding primaries Tuesday.

Congressman Raul Labrador is one of three GOP candidates for governor in Idaho, a state so heavily Republican that the primary goes a long way to determining the general election.

Ten Republicans are vying for Oregon’s gubernatorial nomination — the most in more than a century. The interest among candidates belies the uphill climb for the party in the Democratic-leaning state.

In Nebraska, Omaha-area Democrats will have options for the first time in the state’s lone urban House district, where two liberals are running.